Our final week in Michigan was spent in Munising on the Upper Peninsula in close proximity to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. We left Wilderness State Campground on Monday morning and on route, we visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park - about the halfway point. It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed getting out to stretch our legs and enjoy the falls and trails.
We arrived to our campground in Munising and once again, were blessed to be in spitting distance to the lakeshore - this time on Lake Superior's South Bay. More epic sunsets.
The highlight of our trip to Michigan was the guided Kayak trip along the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore that we took the first full day we were there. We were initially scheduled to go on Wednesday, but a few days before, we noticed the forecast called for a lot of rain and made the call to move to Tuesday without issue from the company. We were so grateful we made this change as the conditions could not have been more perfect for our day on the water - calm waters, little wind, and mostly sunny and warm. It was a 6-hour trip - 2.5 hours out, 1 hour lunch on the beach, then 2.5 hours back. Our guide was Kaz (short for Kassidy) and she was excellent and there were 12 of us total on the tour. The 5 of us, a family of 5 from Ohio and a couple from Ohio - it was a great group and I can't overstate how beautiful it was. Enjoy the (many) photos!
The water was SO clear and that beautiful blue color.
So many interesting rock formations, caves, and colors.
You can see the drops of water where the water runs off the rocks into the lake. And that clear blue color!
A beautiful waterfall
Another angle of the waterfall
And one more!
Paul had his GoPro camera on this day and his shots were amazing. This is one of my favorites that he took.
A cool arch ahead we would go through - area is called Lover's Leap
Going through - look how clear that water is!
Post arch - everyone so enjoyed passing through; Kaz (our guide) is in the red kayak
Nearing the end - Miner's point
Another favorite that Paul took with his GoPro
What a crew and what a day!
At one point during the tour we went through a tunnel called Kissing Rock - Paul captured it on video.
The next day - as forecasted - it rained. So Dan, Diana, Paul and I headed to the city of Marquette, about 45 minutes away. We started out having a great lunch to include homemade pie!
As Marquette is on Lake Superior, there is a lot of interesting maritime history there and the city has numerous parks along the water. First stop was the Marquette Lighthouse.
Marquette harbor features two Ore Docks. One in the Lower Harbor is abandoned but an enormous structure that can be seen from the heart of downtown. The one in the Upper Harbor (also known as the Presque Isle Dock) is active and a massive 1,250 foot-long steel and concrete facility built in 1912. It operates entirely on gravity, with trains dumping up to 50,000 tons of iron ore into storage pockets to fill giant lake freighters. We just missed seeing a freighter get loaded, but it was still quite a sight to see. If you are interested, you can learn more here.
Presque Isle is a beautiful part of Marquette just north of downtown, so we also visited the pier and Black Rocks, which is a popular place for people to jump into the Lake. We saw quite a few jump - even in the dreary weather. It was a beautiful place to walk around.
Our last stop in Marquette was the afternoon Farmers Market downtown and it was fun to walk around this funky city!
Check on the marquis - gave us a good chuckle!
On our last day on the Upper Peninsula, Paul and I hiked the Chapel area of Pictured Rocks National seashore - it included Chapel Falls, Rock, Beach, and Lake. It was a beautiful hike - 7 miles in total - 3.5 miles to the beach and 3.5 miles back to the parking lot. Interestingly enough, the weather was beautiful, but as we approached the beach, it was very foggy and visibility was very low. We continued to thank our lucky stars that the day we kayaked was so perfect.
Beautiful trails through the shaded woods
First stop - Chapel Falls
Most of the trail was beautiful, but there were some muddy areas. Luckily, there were workarounds off to the side of the trail in most places.
Chapel Rock - on the beach - foggy!
The lone Pine Tree that sits atop Chapel Rock is estimated to be 250 years old.
This bridge crosses a very active water flow that goes into Lake Superior from Chapel Lake
The beautiful Pictured Rocks in the fog . . .
About 1 mile back from the beach, it was bright and sunny again!
Chapel Lake
It was a beautiful hike and a great way to spend our last full day in Michigan. After spending 3 weeks with the Halvorsons, it was time for our farewell dinner at the Dogpatch - a local favorite in Munising. For those of my Vineyard friends, it reminded us a lot of the Wharf in Edgartown!
Our time in Michigan has come to an end - what an amazing 3 weeks and what a beautiful state! I type this from Door County in Wisconsin, which we are loving - more on that in the next post.
As always, thanks for your support and love and for following along! Love, Jen & Paul
